Getting a new opponent on such short notice can go either way. In some cases, the replacement is a step below the previous guy, so the fight becomes easier. On the other hand, you can be left with little time to devise a completely different game plan for somebody who fights nothing like the guy you prepared for in the first place.

Johnson started out the fight quickly. He took the first round by letting Chisora get on the offensive and countering his best stuff. Greg Lambert of The Visitor thought that the challenger could give a fighter like Chisora a lot of problems:

This is a tough task for Dereck Chisora. Kevin Johnson struggles with tall boxers but has the skills to counter a squat come forward type.

The opening three minutes would be all that Johnson had, though. That's all the time the champion needed in order to grab the reins and take over.

Johnson used everything in his arsenal in the first round, while Chisora was merely warming up.

Round 5 was arguably where the heavyweight champion won the fight. He knocked Johnson down with a huge right hand. Although the challenger would recover and get to his feet, the damage had already been done:

R5: That was a monster right hand from @dellboychisora and there's no question he's well ahead on the scorecards now! #BoxNation

By that point, Chisora had built a major lead, and from the fifth round on, he was content to keep Johnson at bay and fight not to lose. And Johnson is tough enough that he wasn't going to quit and go down easily no matter how much the fight had gotten away from him.

After the bout, the champ acknowledged that he expected a drawn-out contest:

@dellboychisora "I was trying to be tactical, but he covered very well. I said it before 'it's going to be a long night'" #BoxNation